Hank Williams’ star burned briefly, but brightly. Prior to his untimely death at age 29 on the first day of 1953, he penned such timeless hits as “Your Cheatin’ Heart” and “Hey, Good Lookin’.” On this day in 1952, just four days before he would pass from heart failure in Oak Hill, West Virginia, a spectator reportedly captured the final photo of “The Singing Kid” in Montgomery, Alabama.
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You Can see the Mic From Hank Williams’ Final Performance at This Museum
On Sunday, Dec. 28, 1952, the “Hillbilly Shakespeare” gave one final performance during a private musicians union at the Elite Cafe Montgomery. According to a December 2024 post from the Hank Williams Museum, the audience requested that the “Honky Tonkin’” crooner get up and sing a few songs. He performed “Move It On Over” at the behest of a woman in attendance, along with “Jambalaya,” “You Win Again,” “Cold Cold Heart” and “Lovesick Blues.”
In the photo, posted to Facebook by the page Outlaw Muse in 2023, Williams is nearly unrecognizable without his famous cowboy hat. Dark hair slicked back, staring straight ahead with a pensive expression, he faces the mic. You can view this exact microphone and stand at the Hank Williams Museum in Montgomery.
Williams Died Jan. 1, 1953
Two days later, Hank Williams hired Charles Carr, then a college freshman at Auburn University, to chauffeur him on the 11-hour trip from Montgomery to a New Year’s Day gig at the Canton Memorial Auditorium in Canton, Ohio.
As they drove off, Williams’ song “Jambalaya” came on the radio, and he asked what Carr thought.
“I told him I didn’t care for it, that it didn’t make a bit of sense to me.” the driver recalled to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in July 2013. “Hank laughed and said, ‘You son of a bitch, you just understand the French like I do.’
They spent the night at a hotel in Birmingham and got an early start on New Year’s Eve, hoping to beat the oncoming winter storm. As the snow hit, they wound up stranded in Knoxville, where they planned to stay for the night.
At about 10:30 p.m., Carr got a call from the concert promoter informing him that Williams absolutely had to make it to the Canton show, regardless of the weather. So, they set back out on the road. Hours later, Carr discovered the legendary country crooner dead in the backseat when he stopped for gas in Oak Hill, West Virginia.
Featured image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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